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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22591384">a forest of stars</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfCarrotFlowers/pseuds/QueenOfCarrotFlowers'>QueenOfCarrotFlowers</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Carrot's Romance Fics [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fae &amp; Fairies, Reylo are fairies</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 13:47:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,491</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22591384</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfCarrotFlowers/pseuds/QueenOfCarrotFlowers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rey works hard at the diner to save up for her long dreamed-of vacation to Finland. She's lonely, but that's not new. What is new is Kylo Ren, the CEO of Orpheus Corp and new boss of her best friend Finn. When Finn and Kylo Ren stop by the diner for lunch, Rey feels as though she's finally met someone who understands her. But who is Kylo Ren, and what's his secret?</p><p>A Modern Fae AU</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Carrot's Romance Fics [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1801348</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>150</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>For one is both and both are one in love: The Reylo Fanfiction Anthology's Valentine's Day Exchange, Ijustfellintothissendhelp, Reylo Hidden Gems, Reylo Prompt Fills (@reylo_prompts)</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a forest of stars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/caisha/gifts">caisha</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story for caisha is written for her prompt (which is from <a href="https://twitter.com/reylo_prompts/status/1158808706861142016">@reylo_prompts</a>):</p><p>"Modern Fae AU: Kylo is king of the fae and is the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company. Rey is also fae and is a poor waitress. They meet because Finn is Kylo's bodyguard. Rey looks more human than Kylo does."</p><p>This started out crack but gradually proved itself to be something more. I had a ton of fun figuring out how these two fairies fit together and what they could find in each other. I hope Kylo Ren is human enough but not <i>too</i> human. Thanks for the fun prompt, caisha!</p><p>One million thanks to flypaper_brain for talking me through this and betaing the finished product.</p><p> </p><p>  </p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey, Rey!”</p><p>Rey glanced over to the door from behind the counter, where she was passing lunch orders to the cook. It was only a few minutes after noon and she’d only just started her shift, but the diner was hopping and with only her and one other waitress working the floor, it was going to be a busy one. She didn’t mind the crowd too much, though - it made her feel less alone.</p><p>“Hey, Finn,” she greeted her friend as he shook out his umbrella and used his foot to hold the door open for the person coming in behind him. Rey’d known Finn for most of his life, since he was a baby in diapers, and she still couldn’t help the tinge of pride she felt seeing him dressed for work in a suit and tie. He’d come a long way since Saint Finan’s; with a full-time job working for one of the most important men in the city and a boyfriend he’d been dating long enough they’d started talking about marriage, Finn was living the dream. Rey was proud of her friend, but it was colored by something that was too close to jealousy for comfort. Despite the years she had on him, she’d only ever managed to work a series of dead-end jobs. She didn’t bother dating anymore, although customers still asked her out regularly. Everyone she tried to get to know beyond a surface level she ended up feeling a disconnect with - she’d long ago decided that romantic love just wasn’t a thing she was ever going to find. She sighed and smiled at Finn. “There’s an open booth right by the window if you don’t want to sit at the counter, I’ll be right with you.”</p><p>When she finally headed to his booth with a cup of coffee - although his lunch orders varied Finn always ordered coffee - she was surprised to find that he was not alone. There was a man with him, a very tall man with broad shoulders and thick dark hair that reached his shirt collar, who wore an expensive-looking suit and a frown. Rey slowed her steps as she walked from the counter to the booth. Although Rey had never met him in person in the year or so that Finn had worked as his driver and bodyguard, she knew who he was - it was Finn’s boss, Kylo Ren, it had to be. Kylo Ren was business-famous, the CEO of a multinational company called Orpheus Corp that did something important but mysterious, and made a lot of money for terrible people. There were frequent articles about him in the newspapers and magazines and online, although they were never accompanied by photos of the man - he was, by all accounts, intensely private. Rey was a bit shocked that Finn had encouraged him out and into the diner, but he could be like that sometimes. </p><p>Kylo Ren really didn’t look at all like how she expected him to. He was younger, for one thing; at least ten years younger than her, maybe more. As she moved closer a feeling grew that he was familiar somehow - not that she knew him, exactly, but that she wanted to know him. Maybe it was just that she found him attractive; it didn’t happen very often, Rey finding other people physically attractive. But she did. She liked the way he looked; his size, how his body filled the expensive suit he was wearing, how it commanded the dingy bench as if it was a throne, how his long legs extended under the table, his feet turned towards each other lending him an endearing childlike quality. She liked his profile, too - a strong nose coupled with a weak chin, that should have been at odds but somehow worked together. There was something about his energy, too, that appealed to her. <em>Energy</em>, like she was some kind of an astrologer or something, reading tarot cards or moaning over crystals. Ridiculous. </p><p>“Sir,” Finn said, addressing the man while Rey handed him his coffee. “This is my friend Rey. Rey, this is my boss, Kylo Ren.” </p><p>Kylo Ren continued to ignore her as he perused the menu - he didn’t even acknowledge Finn’s introduction, but Rey smiled down at him anyway.</p><p>“Pleasure to meet you, Mister Ren,” Rey said, setting a small square napkin in front of him. “Can I get you something to drink?”</p><p>Kylo Ren didn’t even look up from the menu, although he mumbled something Rey couldn’t hear. She glanced at Finn and raised an eyebrow, and he shrugged. “Bring him a coffee too, and then we’ll order. We don’t have a lot of time until his next meeting.”</p><p>“I’ll tell the cook to put a rush on it,” Rey said and went back for a second cup of coffee. When she returned Kylo Ren had put his menu back in the holder and was sitting with his hands folded in front of him, eyes focused off in the distance. Again he didn’t thank Rey, or even acknowledge her, when she set the cup on the napkin. She hated to admit it but it rankled her. Sure, he was the CEO of a multibillion dollar company, and the more she looked at him the more attractive he seemed, but he didn’t have to be rude. She was used to rude customers, and they usually only irritated her, but she was more than irritated by Kylo Ren’s behavior - she was disappointed, as though she’d expected better of him. And that only annoyed her more.</p><p>Finn ordered for both of them, and then asked Rey how she was doing. Although it was busy and there was another table waiting to have their order taken, she took the time to answer - she’d always make a little time for Finn. </p><p>“Pretty good. I’ve been working extra shifts all week, saving up for my big trip.”</p><p>“Ah yeah, still planning for Finland? Haven’t changed your mind to go to Mexico or someplace warmer?”</p><p>“Never!” Rey replied with a laugh that she hoped didn’t sound too forced.</p><p>“Finland.” Said an unfamiliar voice, which proved to belong to Kylo Ren, who rather than ignoring her, was now focusing all his intense energy directly on her. It was off putting to say the least. Also off putting was his voice, which was deep and rich and spoke to her on a level beyond what his words were saying. “Why do you want to go to Finland?”</p><p>Rey bit back her initial response, which was to tell Kylo Ren to go fuck himself. Instead, she answered honestly. “I don’t know. I saw a documentary about the country when I was a kid, and I’ve never been able to stop thinking about it. So a few years ago I decided I would save up for a visit.”</p><p>Kylo Ren didn’t even respond; after staring at her for another moment, he turned his head and focused again out into space. His only other movement was the working of his jaw, as though he was grinding his teeth or something. What a fucking weirdo.</p><p>Finn continued as though nothing had happened. “Oh, I saw Father Canady last week at the grocery, he wanted me to tell you hi if I ran into you. So, hi!”</p><p>“Ah, Canady,” Rey said, relaxing, glad for something to take her mind off the strange interaction she’d just had. “If you see him again tell him hi from me.”</p><p>Finn nodded and Rey hopped away. Aside from their brief conversation Kylo Ren hadn’t moved at all the entire time she’d been at the table. What a jerk. Shocked that she’d want to travel to another country? He probably traveled overseas all the time. He probably didn’t like people who worked at diners, people who didn’t have a lot of money, people who couldn’t just travel wherever and whenever they wanted to. Well, she didn’t like him either, so there. Even if he was nice to look at.</p><p>She was kept busy for the next several minutes - taking orders, delivering food, laughing at bad jokes, counting up tips - but she was able to keep Finn and Kylo Ren’s coffee mugs full and she couldn’t help but notice that when she wasn’t with them, Kylo Ren actually talked. She couldn’t hear them because the rest of the diner was so noisy, but they were definitely fogging up the inside of the chilly window. At one point Kylo Ren was leaning over, almost across the table, holding half his BLT in one hand, listening intently to whatever Finn was saying and then interjecting animatedly. But as soon as she came over with the check, he leaned back and snapped his mouth shut.</p><p>There was one difference between Kylo Ren at the end of the meal and at the beginning. Instead of avoiding her, now he openly stared at her. He stared at her as she set down the check, he stared at her when she picked it up - along with his platinum credit card - and he stared at her when she brought it back for him to sign. He didn’t stop staring at her until he was out the door, pulling up the collar of his overcoat to protect his neck against the misty cold.</p><p>Finn gave Rey a hug on his way out, holding his umbrella out carefully so it wouldn’t get her wet. </p><p>“Is your boss okay?” Rey whispered. “He was really rude.”</p><p>Finn frowned. “Sorry, he’s just like that. He has a big meeting this afternoon he’s worried about, that’s probably it. He did ask me about you, though.”</p><p>That surprised her. “Really? What did he ask?”</p><p>Finn’s frown deepened. “You know, I can’t remember now. I’m sure it was nothing important. Anyway, you got some time to relax tonight? A few of us are playing trivia over at Fergie’s at eight if you want to join.”</p><p>“I can’t - working a half-shift tonight, so I don’t get off until ten. Have fun, though!”</p><p>Finn assured her that he would, gave her another hug, and rushed to where his boss was waiting on the sidewalk. Kylo Ren continued staring at Rey through the plate glass that lined the front of the diner until Finn got the umbrella open and over heads, and led him down the sidewalk to wherever he’d parked the car. There was something up with him for sure, and Rey wasn’t sure if she wanted to know what it was.</p>
<hr/><p>The bell on the door sounded and Kylo Ren walked in just as Rey was preparing to end her shift. The hour between nine and ten was usually slow, so she was taking advantage of the lull to wipe down the tables and refill the ketchup and mustard bottles bottles while Maz served the construction workers who preferred to sit at the counter. She was looking forward to going home, taking a long bath, maybe reading a bit before going to bed and starting it all over again tomorrow.</p><p>He’d come right in, dressed exactly as he’d been at lunch. Even so late in the evening there wasn’t a wrinkle on his expensive suit or a scuff on his leather shoes, and he strolled in without a word, hung his overcoat on a peg by the door, and sat in the same booth he’d shared with Finn at lunch. Rey wanted to be annoyed - she only had twelve minutes left in her shift, and if he hadn’t come in she probably could have left early - and she <em>was</em>, but she was annoyed because she was excited. Kylo Ren had come back, and he must have come back to see her. Right? Why else would he come back, right before her shift was scheduled to end? Her excitement annoyed her. She took a moment to calm herself, checked to make sure her shirt was straight, and went over to serve him. He said hello, and her name - “Hello, Rey,” just like that - and he looked at her - a normal kind of look, not a creepy stare - and ordered a cup of black coffee.</p><p>“You’re not going to be able to sleep if you drink coffee at this hour,” she commented, noting his order on her pad. </p><p>He frowned at her. “I’ll be able to sleep. Caffeine doesn’t affect me.”</p><p>“Huh,” she said, taking a moment to glance down at his hands. “That’s funny, it doesn’t really affect me either. Never has.”</p><p>She brought him his coffee, and then Maz told her to clock out, but on her way to the door Kylo Ren called her over. He gripped the mug and glanced around before focusing his gaze on her. His eyes were brown, a light shade that reminded her of honey, of something sweet. </p><p>“I’m sorry about this afternoon, I was very rude. I was wondering if I might treat you to some pie, before you leave.”</p><p>Rey was tired, but she also loved Maz’s lemon meringue pie, so that’s how she ended up sitting across the booth from Kylo Ren, eating slices of pie and drinking coffee that wouldn’t affect her and talking with Kylo Ren about… well, Rey wasn’t quite sure what they were talking about.</p><p>“Skywalker?”</p><p>It was a name. Kylo Ren was giving her names, asking if she’d ever known anybody by those names. But they weren’t normal names, like “Johnson” or “Smith” or “Martin”. No, they were strange names. Names like “Skywalker.” </p><p>She thought about it, she really did, but her mind came up blank. “Nope. Pretty sure I’ve never met anybody with the name Skywalker.”</p><p>He took a bite of pie while she spoke, and it took him a moment to finish chewing and swallowing, and to wash it down with a mouthful of coffee. She watched his mouth, his jaw, his throat while he worked through it, and it made her feel a certain kind of way. But then he came up with more names and she had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes.</p><p>“How about Kenobi? Or Jinn? Fisto? Windu?” He loomed over his plate of pie, and his meaty paw dwarfed the fork so much it looked like a tiny one, one made to eat hors d'oeuvres at a fancy party. Rey took her time, ate two more bites of pie and refilled their coffees before answering. She hadn’t thought about it this time - she knew those names meant nothing to her - but she had thought briefly about how many more hours she’d have to work to save up for her Finland trip, then she considered what she might do for her weekend off, and then she’d wondered what it might be like to kiss Kylo Ren’s lips. His mouth was wide and his lips looked soft, but that line of wondering had quickly devolved into something best left untouched (that was the point at which she’d excused herself to grab the carafe of coffee) and so finally it made sense to answer.</p><p>“Sorry, no. Never met anybody with those names, either.”</p><p>Kylo Ren - who by this point had finished his pie, and had refused a second slice - seemed very unhappy with this news. But then he started asking her about her previous vacations. </p><p>“How many times have you traveled abroad?”</p><p>“I’ve never been out of the country.”</p><p>“But you want to go to Finland? And you don’t know why?”</p><p>Rey gave in and rolled her eyes, but her display of exasperation didn’t seem to bother him. “Nope.”</p><p>“So you’ve never been to Wales? Ireland? Japan? Brittany?”</p><p>As he listed the names of these strange foreign lands it occurred to her that perhaps he was interviewing her to be his sugar baby. It wasn’t an unwelcome thought, exactly, but her looks were deceiving and he didn’t know how old she really was, and anyway his demeanor was so strange she couldn't believe that was what he was actually doing. But if he wasn’t doing that, she had no idea where the questioning might be going.</p><p>“Are you sure you’ve never been to Brittany?” He asked, after a particularly long pause in conversation. It was well past ten now, and Rey was free to go, but although she was exhausted after a twelve-hour shift she couldn’t quite bring herself to leave. Kylo Ren was weird but she liked him, and he was nice to look at. She was very sure he wasn’t dangerous, so she was willing to humor him for a while longer.</p><p>“Why are you asking me all these questions?” She demanded. “I’ve already told you I don’t know these people, and I’ve never been to these places - I’ve never even been out of the country. I’ve certainly never been to Brittany, whatever that is - but why do you want to know? What’s your angle, Kylo Ren?”</p><p>“Brittany is the northwesternmost point of France,” he said, not answering her question. “It’s a rugged peninsula. It’s the most beautiful place in the world.” He gazed past her shoulder again, looking wistful, and she wondered if he was thinking about taking her there. The thought irked her. “More beautiful than Finland,” he added, and that really got Rey’s hackles up.</p><p>“Whatever. I still want to know why you’re asking me this.”</p><p>He refocused, sat up straight in the booth, straightened his tie - his tie that didn’t need straightening - and hemmed and hawed for a while.</p><p>“You, uh, remind me of someone I used to know,” he finally replied. “I thought you might be, uh, related?”</p><p>“Okay, right. And this person you know, they know all these people? And they’ve been to those places? And you think that if we’re related, I would know those places and people too.”</p><p>“Um. Yes?” He sounded so uncertain, Rey had to laugh.</p><p>“Well you could have just asked me. This is personal, but I’m feeling generous.” She was feeling more than generous. She was about to tell him something she hadn’t told anybody else except Finn, her best friend in the world, and she couldn’t explain why she wanted to. But she did, so she would. “I’ve lived here my whole life, never even been out of the state. My parents abandoned me as a baby. Apparently somebody found me in the woods, wrapped in a homespun blanket, and they took me to Saint Finan’s Orphanage and that’s where I grew up.”</p><p>Kylo Ren nodded. “Finn told me at lunch. That’s where he grew up, too.”</p><p>“Finn <em>told </em>you?” Rey was filled with sudden, hot anger, and threw her fork down on her plate, where it clattered loudly. The three construction workers sitting at the counter all turned around at the same time to check and make sure that she was okay. Rey waved at them and they turned back around. Kylo Ren held his hands out in front of him, palms open. Rey continued in a growl. “I told him that was a secret, he wasn’t to tell anyone, let alone <em>you</em> over <em>lunch</em>.”</p><p>“He didn’t mean to tell me, if that helps,” Kylo Ren said apologetically. “I can be very persuasive when I want to be.”</p><p>“I don’t know what that means, but since I told you anyway, it’s okay I guess.” Rey sat back, disgruntled, and picked up her fork again. “So that’s how Finn and I met, although I was already grown and out before he arrived. I used to volunteer there, on the weekends, when I was in college.”</p><p>Kylo Ren narrowed his eyes. “How old are you, Rey? Finn didn’t tell me that.”</p><p>Rey hated this question, but she answered honestly. “I’ll be forty-six on my next birthday.”</p><p>She waited for the usual exclamations, the <em>you’ve aged so well! </em>or the <em>you can’t possibly be older than twenty-two!</em>, but there was nothing. She wouldn't have been surprised if he’d just got up and left; she was a few years older than Kylo Ren, at least, and if he was looking for a sugar baby he’d be sorely disappointed, but all he did was nod. He nodded, and looked at her, and after several long moments he leaned forward and pointed one of his long, thick digits into her face.</p><p>“That’s it. I was pretty sure, but now I’m certain. You’re a fairy, Rey.”</p><p>“Excuse me?” She said, leaning forward on her elbows and pointing her fork at him. “I must have misheard you. It sounded like you just told me that I’m a <em>fairy</em>.”</p><p>“Rey.” His gaze was intense but she refused to look away. “Have you ever felt different? Like you just didn’t fit in? Nobody understands you, not really. Not even Finn. He’s your only true friend, but you can’t tell him everything. You can’t tell him how you lie awake at night and despair, how Finland calls to you and you don’t even know why.” He leaned back and pointed at her again. “You feel that way because you’re a fairy.”</p><p>Anger filled Rey again. “And you,” she said, grabbing her coat from the bench next to her and scooting quickly out of the booth, “are <em>completely deranged</em>. You can pay for this. Goodnight, Kylo Ren.” She rushed out the door, forgetting her umbrella in her haste, and although she listened for a shout behind her, telling her to please wait, she didn’t hear anything but the sound of her own heartbeat.</p><p>Rey stomped, livid, in the direction of her apartment. What a fucking weirdo Kylo Ren had turned out to be. Sure, he’d fed her pie, and she had been hungry after her long shift, but <em>still</em>. Getting Finn to tell him her secrets? Telling her she’s a <em>fairy?</em> Who does that? She stomped and muttered to herself for three blocks,  hands thrust in her coat pockets, cursing the rain in her hair and her lack of umbrella, and she was so fixated on her own thoughts that she didn’t notice when someone stepped out of the alley in front of her until she ran into them.</p><p>“Hey!” she yelled, ready for a fight, but her anger turned to fear when she looked up and saw the person’s face illuminated in the streetlight that cast a pool of light around them - it was Kylo Ren.</p><p>“What the hell?” she yelled, taking a step back. He took a step back, too, and held up his hands in a gesture of supplication. “How did you get here so fast?” She couldn’t help but notice that he’d changed clothes, too. In the diner he’d been wearing a fine dark suit and a red tie, shiny black leather shoes and a black woolen overcoat. Now he was wearing jeans, a black tee shirt with a red design she figured belonged to some metal band, and a black leather jacket. On his feet were worn black leather boots with red laces. Same aesthetic, different look. She shook her head. “What the hell?” She said again.</p><p>Kylo Ren took another step back, hands still held out. He reminded her a bit of a zookeeper, desperately trying to keep an angry lion from attacking. “Look, I’m sorry I sprang it on you like that back there, but you are a fairy, and so am I. That’s how I was able to get here, and change my clothes so quickly.”</p><p>“You’re a fairy, we’re fairies, right.” Rey wished more than ever that she’d invested in a can of mace or something, some way to defend herself. The street they were on ran between two busy roads and would normally have a fair amount of traffic even so late at night, but there were no cars now. They were completely alone on the sidewalk, which she had to admit was strange. Kylo Ren being here in different clothes was strange. Their conversation at the diner had been, likewise, strange.</p><p>But he was right, which was the strangest thing. At the diner - it’s why she’d run away. Rey <em>had</em> always felt alone. Misunderstood. Different. Even Finn, her closest friend, barely knew her. And she’d never understood <em>why</em>. Why was she so lonely? Why hadn’t she aged past the age of twenty? Why did she feel so drawn to a place she had no connection to? And now - why was she so drawn to Kylo Ren, and why did she want to believe him? Because she did, very much. She wanted to believe that she was a fairy. Which was ridiculous.</p><p>Rey crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Okay, none of this makes sense. Fairies don’t exist. They <em>can’t</em>. But that still doesn’t explain how you got here so quickly, and how you changed your clothes”</p><p>“Because they aren’t clothes.” Rey opened her mouth to respond, but before she could there was a shimmer, a shift, and he was dressed again in the fine suit and overcoat from earlier. </p><p>“What the fuck!” Rey shouted, and tentatively reached out to touch the lapel of his suit jacket. It was soft under her fingertips, obviously very fine. She gripped it more tightly. “Oh my god. It’s real. It’s wool.”</p><p>“Sort of,” Kylo Ren answered. “Magic real. Not quite real-real.”</p><p>Another shimmer and shift and Rey’s hand still held something, but now it was buttery black leather instead of wool - the collar of his leather jacket.</p><p>“Woah,” Rey said, her mind temporarily overwhelmed. “Woah. Oh my god. Magic?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Kylo Ren replied. “It’s called a glamour, it’s a specific kind of spell that influences how we appear to humans. And to other fairies, although other fairies can usually see through it, especially if they know it’s there.”</p><p>Rey’s fear fell away. Instead she felt giddy, like she was on the cusp of something wonderful, something <em>true</em>. “Wait, so you mean I can do that too?” She glanced down her body, at her old puffy coat - purchased used a few years before at Goodwill, and sadly not waterproof - that covered the slacks and button-down shirt she wore to work, and the ugly but comfortable shoes on her feet. “Can I get a new look?”</p><p>Kylo Ren smiled, and it brightened up his entire face. “You could. Do you want to see?”</p><p>“Seriously?” She stepped closer again. “You can put a glamour on me?”</p><p>“I could, but you already have one,” he replied, and took a step of his own. They were only a foot apart now, and even in the dim light Rey could see flicks of gold in Kylo Ren’s brown eyes. “Your parents, I suppose, put one on you before they abandoned you. I noticed it, or thought I did, at lunch, which is why I was acting so strangely. Again, I’m sorry about that. I was just trying to figure out who you might be and what to do about it.”</p><p>“I mean, it’s really okay, but thanks for apologizing. Wait, is that how you were able to get Finn to tell you about me? Some kind of fairy magic?” </p><p>Kylo Ren had the decency to look embarrassed. “Yeah, a little bit of suggestion. It didn’t hurt him or anything.”</p><p>“Wow. Could I do that?”</p><p>Kylo Ren nodded. “Sure. I can teach you.”</p><p>“Ah, no,” Rey shook her head. “I don’t think I want to do it. Controlling other people… not what I want to do. But it’s interesting to know that I could, if I did want to. I am interested in the glamour, though.” Rey turned her head one way and another. “If I don’t really look like this, what do I look like?”</p><p>Kylo Ren shrugged. “Only one way to find out.” As before, when Kylo Ren had changed his outfit, there was a shimmer followed by a shift, only this time Rey was inside it, and it was accompanied by a tingling across her skin and an unfamiliar scent - almost like something burning - that quickly dissipated.</p><p>“Woah,” Kylo Ren said, his eyes wide. “Woah.”</p><p>Concerned by his reaction, Rey scrambled for her phone, in the pocket of her coat. It took her a moment to set the phone on selfie mode, but once she got it figured out and angled so there was enough light to see clearly, she had the same reaction. </p><p>“Woah!”</p><p>She looked, by and large, the same, but also very different. Beautiful - she looked beautiful. Her skin was clear, and glowing, literally glowing, like there were lights beneath the surface of her skin. Her cheekbones were higher and more defined - like she’d worked with a really good makeup artist. Her eyes, usually a not unattractive hazel, were now green - a deep shade that reminded Rey of the forest in spring, her favorite place to hike. Her hair likewise was still brown, but now a deeper shade, more shiny, more <em>real</em>. As she turned her head to see the light reflect off her hair she noticed that her ears were a bit larger than before, and slightly pointy at the top.</p><p>“Elf ears!” She exclaimed.</p><p>“Fairy ears,” Kylo Ren replied with disdain. “Please, <em>elves?</em> Human invention. No such things. We’re all just different types of fairies. You, obviously, are a wood fairy.”</p><p>Rey couldn’t control the grin that threatened to take over her face. “Wood fairy. I love it. It makes sense, I’ve always loved the woods. Finland,” she was flooded with sudden comprehension. “<em>Finland</em>. That’s why I want to visit so badly, isn’t it?”</p><p>“I think so, yes. There used to be a major community of wood fairies whose world connected directly with Finland. They may still exist, I don’t know.”</p><p>Rey glanced away from her phone and back to him. “What kind of fairy are you? Is this what you really look like?”</p><p>Kylo Ren’s face fell, his joy replaced by something like embarrassment. “Ah, no. I don’t really look like this. I, hmm,” he paused and gazed up into the sky for long enough that Rey finally interrupted him.</p><p>“Kylo Ren? Mister Fairy? Are you okay?”</p><p>When he looked back at her his eyes were black, like the sky. </p><p>“I’m okay,” he answered, and his voice was black, too, deep and empty. It echoed inside her head and made her shiver. “Your kind, the wood fairies, live in the trees, with the creatures. You dig in the dirt, play in the streams. My father was a wood fairy, and my mother’s mother was a fire fairy, from the center of the earth. But my mother’s father was a celestial fairy. They live amongst the stars, in the void of space. For better or for worse, I take after my grandfather.” </p><p>“Wow,” said Rey, trying desperately to decide exactly what Kylo Ren’s voice was making her feel and whether she liked it or not. “I’ve never heard of celestial fairies. They sound a little scary.”</p><p>“Celestial fairies are the most beautiful, the most respected of the fairies, and the rarest,” Kylo Ren boomed. His voice, while loud, seemed to come from very far away, and the sound of it hurt her heart. “To be happy and whole they need to spend time amongst the stars. Much like the wood fairies, who rely on trees and green things for their survival.” Rey thought about the small potted plants that lined all the windows in her apartment and nodded. “My grandfather was the king of all fairies, but he remained on earth for too long, and an evil wizard successfully turned him. They called him the Víðarr, the vengeful one, and he killed many good fairies before he was cast out.”</p><p>“Oh my god,” Rey murmured, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. “Why did they let you become king, if he had been cast out?”</p><p>“They didn’t know,” Kylo Ren’s whisper was like a breeze behind her eyes. “My mother was an infant when he went mad and was taken in by another fairy family. She eventually learned the truth about her father, but she kept it a secret from everyone. The fairies who raised her were descended from celestial fairies, so my appearance was expected. But when the secret was discovered, that my grandfather was a monster, that <em>I</em> was a monster, I was the one who paid.” </p><p>“You’re not a monster,” Rey insisted, on the verge of tears. He wasn’t - she was sure of it.</p><p>“I am,” his voice boomed again, like the ocean’s swell beating against a cliff’s face. “That’s why I left.”</p><p>“What did you leave? Where did you go?”</p><p>“I left the fairy kingdom. There’s a lot to tell - it would take a long time." He paused, gazing down at her, expression inscrutable. "I trust you, Rey. Do you trust me?"</p><p>She had no reason to, but she did. "Yes, Kylo Ren. I trust you."</p><p>"Then let me show you.” He held out his hand - his very large but still very human hand - and without a second thought, Rey reached out and took it.</p><p>She fell backwards, and found herself standing in a long stone tunnel. Kylo Ren was with her, although she couldn’t see him she could feel his hand, warm and strong in her own. She knew immediately that she was both far underground and somewhere far away from home. Was she in another dimension?</p><p>“Something like that,” Kylo Ren’s voice sounded in her head. The air was cold but Rey’s breath didn’t puff in front of her face; she wasn’t even sure she was breathing. “A great battle was fought here, a secret battle for the crown of the fairy kingdom; my uncle killed my grandfather here.” Pride filled her heart, and great sorrow, too, but did it come from Kylo Ren or was it her own?</p><p>Before Rey could formulate any kind of question she was yanked sideways, and found herself squinting into the sun. Into <em>two</em> suns, shining together high in the sky. It was very hot, and she was standing in a crowd of people in front of a high stage, fronted by soldiers in gleaming silver armor, carrying tall pikes topped by colorful flags. Glancing around Rey realized that it wasn’t a crowd of people; it was a crowd of fairies, beautiful creatures with skin of all shades and hair and clothing of all colors. Fear gripped her heart, and this time she understood that it wasn’t her own fear she was feeling - it was Kylo Ren’s. His fear cried out to her, spoke to her, and she wanted to embrace it. The crowd was angry, the air was awash with tension, and on the stage a ginger-haired fairy dressed in blue stepped up to the edge. He shouted at the crowd in a language she didn't know but nevertheless understood.</p><p>“Your King is a liar! Kylo Ren <em>lies</em>. He is the grandson of the Víðarr himself! Is he the one we want leading us? Do we want a <em>monster</em> for our king?” </p><p>The crowd replied with a roar, “NO! <em>NO</em>! <em><strong>NO</strong></em>!” </p><p>The fear in Rey’s heart turned to a deep sorrow, and she was pulled upwards. When she stopped she was both scorchingly hot and freezing cold. There was no place she could discern, but far away she could hear a sound, a sorrowful, angry noise, weeping as well as screams. Terror gripped her heart, and again that deep sorrow - the anticipation of loneliness, knowing that very soon she would be alone and that no matter how many other people were there, she would always be alone. Rey knew this feeling well. Kylo Ren’s hand tightened in hers and she squeezed it. </p><p>“Is that you?” She whispered, and she felt him nod.</p><p>“Yes. They tortured me before forcing me into exile.”</p><p>“Kylo,” she whispered, and would have pulled him closer but she was flipped upside down, and when she landed she was back under the binary suns, only now instead of being in a crowd Rey stood in the middle of a grassy field on top of a hill, next to a large stone. There was a gap under the stone, a dark space. Rey knelt down to take a closer look, and Kylo Ren's hand followed; there were rugged stone stairs, leading down into the ground. At the point where the sunlight ended, the stairs appeared to curve sideways, like a corkscrew.</p><p>“The tunnel between the fae and human worlds,” Kylo Ren murmured in her head. “Look, here I come.” Rey stood and turned just in time to see Kylo Ren mount the crest of the hill. He looked exactly like the man she’d been speaking with earlier, except for his clothing - this man wore tall boots over hose, a long tunic with a belt tied around, and a floppy hat, all of it black. He carried a bag over his shoulder, and a short sword in a beaten leather scabbard at his hip. </p><p>“He can’t see you,” Kylo Ren said, and he sounded so sad Rey wanted to give him a hug. “This is just a memory.”</p><p>The memory of Kylo Ren stopped by the rock, turned around and gave the sky one last glance before heading down into the dark tunnel. </p><p>Rey cried out and reached for him, but it was too late. One more fall backwards, and Rey was back on the sidewalk, under the streetlight, holding Kylo Ren’s hand. His eyes were back to normal. With a sigh, he pulled his hand away and clutched it to his chest.</p><p>"I felt you," Rey gasped. "I felt what you felt."</p><p>"That can happen," he said apologetically.</p><p>"Oh no, I liked it. I mean, not all the feelings, but feeling them. That they were yours." He stared at her and she tried again. "When I say I know how you feel I really mean that I know how you feel."</p><p>"Yes," he said, slowly lowering his hand. "That makes sense."</p><p>"So you were the king."</p><p>"King of the fairies, yes."</p><p>"And they kicked you out."</p><p>"They dethroned me and sent me into exile, yes."</p><p>"Because they found out your grandfather was the, uh, Víðarr."</p><p>Kylo Ren nodded and stared at the ground. The silence around them was deafening; there were still no cars or people to be seen, no barking dogs or slamming doors within the entire block. Even the rain had ceased falling.</p><p>“Kylo Ren?” Rey said his name, but it was as though he didn’t hear her at all; he was trapped with his own memories. She tried again. “Kylo?” When she reached out and took his hand again he finally looked up at her, tears shining in his eyes - his beautiful eyes, his very human-seeming eyes.</p><p>“How long have you been alone?”</p><p>The question seemed to take him off-guard, and he blinked. But he didn’t have to think long to come up with the answer. “I came out of the ground in Brittany in the year of their Lord 1351. Just at the height of the so-called Black Death.”</p><p>“Yikes.” Rey had studied the Black Death in school; she didn’t remember much about it, except that it killed something like half of the population of Europe. She interlaced her fingers with his, and couldn’t help but notice how much larger his hand was than hers. “But you didn’t get sick?”</p><p>Kylo Ren chuckled and raised an eyebrow at her, and gave her fingers a squeeze. “Have you ever been sick?”</p><p>Rey shook her head - she had to admit that, along with all the strange things in her life, the loneliness and longing and the lack of grey hairs on her head, she had also never, ever been sick, not so much as a runny nose.</p><p>“But I got to know people,” Kylo Ren continued, turned his hand over and stroked the back of Rey’s hand with the fingertips of his other hand. “I even fell in love, more than once. But after the plague ended, even when the people I befriended were well and lived long lives, I was still there when they were gone.” He paused to wipe a tear from his cheek. “Fairies don’t die, or not very often anyway, and watching everybody I loved grow old, or get sick, and then leave me… after a while it was easier to just be by myself.”</p><p>Rey shivered at the sensation of Kylo Ren's fingertips on her hand. "I've always been alone, too," she admitted. "There's Finn, but even he-"</p><p>"He's different," Kylo Ren finished her thought for her.</p><p>"Yeah. He's not like me." Rey felt bad admitting it, but it was true. "But you," she continued, looking up from their joined hands and catching his eyes, "you don't feel different. You feel familiar."</p><p>"Yes," Kylo Ren said, eyes shining. "You feel like me."</p><p>Rey breathed in slowly and released a shuddering breath. Kylo Ren's hand was warm in hers, and his skin was soft. She had many questions but there was just one thing that she was desperate to know.</p><p>"Kylo Ren," she whispered, leaning closer, "what do you really look like?"</p><p>His face hardened and he stood up straight, but he didn't let go of her hand. "If you can lift my glamour yourself, then you can see." The corner of his mouth lifted and his eyes twinkled. He was issuing a challenge.</p><p>Rey loved challenges.</p><p>She had no idea how to do magic or cast spells, but not knowing had never stopped her before. She closed her eyes and concentrated on herself, searched for something - something that had been there, but that she hadn't noticed before, or hadn't considered important. She found it, grasped it, turned it over in her mind. Then she stroked it, and this thing, this strange, mysterious thing - it <em>woke up</em>. </p><p>A shudder passed through Rey, and on to Kylo Ren, and the scent of burning touched her nostrils before quickly dissipating. When she opened her eyes he was there, and he was more beautiful than she could have imagined. His body was the same size and shape as its human form, only now it was a void, a rent in the fabric of reality, a well of darkness - but Rey could see stars inside, millions of dots of twinkling light, and her heart called to them. When it did, they called back to her, in a single voice - his voice.</p><p>"Kylo Ren," she whispered, reached out a hand, placed her palm against his chest. He was warm and surprisingly solid; his heartbeat under his ribs made her think of a large bird trapped in a small cage. The thought of it - his heart, his body, his stars - sent a shock of desire through her core. She hadn’t felt anything like that in a long, long time, and it was thrilling.</p><p>"I'm here," the stars called. "Do you despise me?"</p><p>"No!" Rey laughed through her tears, which fell freely, joyfully. "You're the most wonderful thing I've ever seen." She placed her other hand on the other side of his chest and leaned her forehead against him. He smelled of petrichor and sulphur, a combination which should have been repugnant, but wasn’t.</p><p>He placed a hand on the back of her head, and she could feel his delight. The stars danced. "I'm yours," he whispered. "My name is <em>Ben</em>, my true name, and I am yours now." He paused, and the stars dimmed. “If you want me.”</p><p>Rey gazed up into where his face would be, but there were only stars.</p><p>“I want you,” she said, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down into an embrace. The air around them grew darker even as the stars shined brighter, and when she realized what was causing the darkness she laughed out loud. “Wings!” She shouted, as his enormous, chiropteran wings extended from around his back, stretched out and up towards the sky before finally wrapping around to envelop both of them, sharp claws joining together over her head. It felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket, and she giggled into his neck. Then she pressed her lips against his neck, and he shuddered under her touch. She shuddered, too.</p><p>“So what do we do now? The only two fairies in the city?”</p><p>Ben laughed, his stars shook. “How about we go to Finland?”</p><p>Rey laughed too. Her nose followed the line of his jaw, and from there it was easy enough to find his mouth. She kissed him; he was warm and tasted of lavender and mountain air and home. When she was done kissing him she sighed. “Finland sounds good. But after Finland, you have to promise to take me to the stars.”</p><p>Ben’s stars glimmered and shined, millions of tiny supernovas dancing and singing.</p><p>“I’ll take you wherever you want to go. If you want to visit the stars, I will take you to the stars.”</p><p>“As long as I’m with you,” Rey answered, and pulled Ben into another kiss. Her heart sang a duet with his stars, and she knew she would never be alone again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks to SpaceWaffleHouseTM for the beautiful moodboard!</p><p>
  
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